Effect of Flipped Learning Approach on Students’ Achievement in Geography

Flipped Learning Approach (FLA) is a constructive method of teaching which has gained prominence in the 21st Century as a key driver to academic achievement. However, its efficacy in a Kenyan Geography classroom has not been adequately established. Kenyenya sub county recorded the lowest mean score of 3.976 in Kisii County which is below the overall county mean of 4.875 over the period between 2019 to 2023. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of FLA on students’ achievement in Geography in sub county secondary schools in Kenyenya sub county, establish the performance of the students taught the topic Internal land forming processes using Flipped Learning Approach, establish the performance of students taught the topic Internal land forming processes using conventional methods and to determine the differences in performance between students taught using flipped learning approach and those taught using conventional methods. The study was based on Jerome Bruner’s constructivism theory which argues that learning takes place when a learner constructs mechanism of learning in his or her unique version of knowledge. The study used Solomon Four Non-Equivalent Group Design. The sample size of the study was four (4) Geography teachers from the four (4) sub county public secondary schools and four classrooms consisting of 260 form two Geography students which were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Instruments for data collection were Geography Conceptual Understanding Achievement test (GCUAT, Observation Checklist, and Interview schedule for Geography Teachers. Data was analysed using mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA. Interviews were qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicates that there was a statistically significant difference in mean scores between students taught using FLA , E1 (M = 70.97) and E2 (M = 70.4) compared to those taught using conventional methods C1 (M = 50.63) and C2 (M = 49.57). These findings indicates that FLA significantly improved students’ conceptual understanding of the topic Internal Land Forming Processes in Geography. This study recommends that Geography teachers should integrate the use of FLA in teaching Geography and Ministry of Education should incorporate it for training of in-service teachers.